A friend who hears voices is hearing my voice saying things that I would never say. AIBU to gently withdraw from the friendship?

[CarrietheChocolateFiend]

She is being cared for by her sister and is being supported by daily visits from the local mental health crisis team. She has a diagnosis of paranoid schizoaffective and is on a lot of medication.

She understands that nobody else can hear most of the voices she hears. But she nevertheless believes that the nasty and spiteful and sometimes profane things she hears from "Carrie's voice" come genuinely from me - and as a result, she feels violated and abused by what she believes I'm telling her.

I'm determined not to be upset or offended by the anger she's directing towards me (though much of what she is wrongly accusing me of would be considered extremely offensive) and I am her oldest, longest-term friend and I care about her so much, would take any bullet for her &etc.

But I am increasingly reaching the conclusion that my presence in her life is making her illness worse and worse. Or at least, that I can no longer help.

AIBU to withdraw from the friendship for the time being?

You shouldn't do anything like that without getting advice.

Agree with this.

This was a hard thread for me to read. I have psychotic episodes, albeit relatively mild ones. I hear and see things, and my reality can get skewed. Even though they are mild, they can be terrifying. I never talk about them with anyone, because it would make people too uncomfortable. There are "acceptable" mental illnesses, and "unacceptable" ones - although, of course, the acceptable ones often get minimised (e.g. people assuming that someone with depression can pull themselves together for an important event).

I agree with the PP who said that it sounds like your friend is putting down boundaries. Maybe you being present means that you are more likely to be "real", and she will be better able to discount voices as "not real". It sounds horrendous for her though.

At the end of the day, if you can't find a way to protect your own mental health, I guess you have to consider stepping back. But I would be inclined to try her suggestion first.

OP, you sound lovely, and a very caring friend. However, paranoid psychosis is potentially dangerous.
If your friend, while in the grip of psychosis, decides that you and your voice are demons and must be destroyed, she may well attack you physically or attempt to murder you.
Indeed, her insistence on only seeing you in person may be her way of luring you into closer proximity to facilitate an attack.
Even if her illness is not that severe, your presence may be fuelling her delusions, and it would be much kinder to keep away until her medication has become effective and she is no longer psychotic. At that point you could reestablish the friendship if you wish.